The invention relates to improvements in electric switches, and more particularly to improvements in mechanical switches of the type wherein a first contact is normally engaged by a second contact under the action of one or more springs.
Mechanical switches can be provided with pushbuttons, pivotable levers or rotary members for moving a movable contact into or from engagement with a fixed contact. A drawback of conventional switches is that the application of a force which is required to change the position of the movable contact with reference to the associated fixed contact must always take place in a predetermined direction (particularly along a straight or along an arcuate path). Moreover, many conventional switches are designed in such a way that, if the spring which is used to bias the movable contact happens to break, its fragments are likely to establish an electrical connection at a time when such connection is not only undesirable but can cause injury or damage.